Dear Coaches, Team Members and Family: We are so happy that you will be joining us for the 40th anniversary of the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship. I hope you and your team are ready to experience the Championship of a lifetime. I would like to once again congratulate you and your team on qualifying for this prestigious event. Enclosed in this email is VERY IMPORTANT information for you to go over with your team members and family traveling to Orlando with you. We suggest giving a copy of this letter to every participant to share with their parents even if they have been to our Championship in the past. Hotel Registration – IMPORTANT: When you arrive at the lobby you will register with the Hilton first to receive your room keys. Next you will register with the UCA Staff. You will receive all tickets, meal vouchers, schedules and name tags at registration as well as other pertinent information concerning the Championship. Hotel Assignment: Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista 1751 Hotel Plaza Blvd Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 (407) 827-4000 Event Registration: After you check in with the hotel, you will next check in with the UCA / Varsity Spirit Staff to receive all tickets, meal vouchers, schedules and name tags for the Championship as well as other pertinent information concerning the weekend’s events. UCA Registration times are listed below: Thursday, February 6th – 8:00 am – 10:00pm Friday, February 7th – 8:00 am – 10:00 pm * If you arrive at the hotel later than these hours you will register with Hilton at the front desk to receive your room keys and then register with Varsity Spirit the next morning to receive tickets, meal vouchers, etc. If you arrive to the hotel after the Event Registration has closed Friday evening, you will register with the Varsity Staff Saturday morning beginning at 7:00 am in the Championship Office. Early Arrival: It is very important that you know ahead of time that rooms are not guaranteed to be ready until after 4:00 p.m. If you arrive earlier, the hotel will gladly store your luggage so that you can go out and enjoy the day shopping at Disney Springs, hanging out by the pool, or visiting a Theme Park, etc. Missing Forms: Tickets, nametags, etc. will not be given out at registration until all forms are received (rules and regulations and release waiver forms) and balance of payments are taken care of. UCA Championship Office: The designated office for the Championship is located in the South Ballroom. Office hours during the event are: Saturday, February 8th – 7:00 am – 11:00 pm Sunday, February 9th – 7:00 am – 11:00 pm Monday, February 10th – 8:00 am – 6:00 pm Order of Competition and Schedule of Events: You may view the order of competition and the event schedule on uca.varsity.com. Competition Venues: This year we will be utilizing SIX competition venues, all at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex: The Arena at ESPN Wide World of Sports (four competition venues), the Visa Athletic Center and the HP Field House. On Friday and Saturday, we will also be using The Stadium (Baseball Stadium) for most Semi-Finalist and Finalists Announcements. Be sure to check your schedule for your announcement location. Some announcements have been left in the performance venue to allow ample time for athletes to prepare for the next round of competition. ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Admission: Admission into ESPN Wide World of Sports is included only for those on the NHSCC hotel travel package and anyone purchasing Disney tickets from the NHSCC. Only those NOT purchasing tickets from the NHSCC will be charged an admission of $40.00 per day into ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Once you have entered the Complex you may go into any of our competition venues. These tickets are available only at the ESPN Wide World of Sports ticket booths and will be on sale the day of our events. If you have a Park Hopper, it only takes a day off your Sports Complex admissions and does NOT take a day from your Theme Park admissions. Advancing from Prelims to Semis: The top two teams in each preliminary round of 20 teams and over (“A”, “B”, etc.) will automatically advance to finals in their respective division. One team in each preliminary round of 19 teams and under (“A”, “B”, etc.) will automatically advance to finals in their respective division. A minimum of 50% of the teams in each prelim group (A, B, etc. including finalists) will advance to Semi-Finals. Please Note: You may notice that some divisions only have one round prior to finals for that category, they are classified as a Semi-Final competition. 50% of the category will advance from Semi-Finals to Finals. Order of Competition for Teams Advancing: The order of competition for all teams advancing will be done by a random draw. Random draw will be based on the number of teams estimated to advance. If for some reason we advance more teams than estimated, any additional teams will be drawn from the total number of teams. The remaining teams will be added into the order and all other teams will move down. NEW LOCATION! Friday Night UCA Night at Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park: This is only for those purchasing the NHSCC Hotel Travel Package. Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park will extend its hours on Friday evening for the NHSCC from 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Only those with a YELLOW wristband will be allowed to ride select attractions during this time frame. The Park is currently planning on having the following attractions available to experience: • Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain® • DINOSAUR • Primeval Whirl® • Triceratop Spin • It’s Tough to be a Bug!® • Na’vi River JourneyTM • Avatar Flight of PassageTM With the popularity of Avatar Flight of PassageTM , this attraction will be limited to those who receive a timed return voucher. Voucher distribution will begin at 8:00 pm at the Festival of the Lion King Theatre. Guests will be required to show their Varsity Extra Magic Hours wristband to receive a voucher. Each voucher will indicate a return time. Guests are to proceed to the entrance of Avatar Flight of PassageTM at the indicated return time. Note: Voucher quantities are limited and subject to availability. Vouchers are not a FastPass+; are non- transferable; and not valid for days or times other than that listed on the voucher. Attraction availability subject to change without notice. Please use the Walt Disney World Buses to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park on Friday. Everyone, regardless of the time that you go to Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park, must have a WDW Park Hopper Pass to gain entrance into the park. This will use one day of your park admissions on your park hopper. Once again, the YELLOW wristband will be in effect for those rides listed above from 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Sunday Night Championship Celebration Party: For those purchasing the UCA hotel travel package or if you purchased a GREEN wristband, Sunday evening we have planned an incredible Celebration Party at the Magic Kingdom® Park. The park will be closed to the public. The following attractions will also be open from 10:00 pm - 1:30 am. • Tomorrowland® o Astro Orbiter o Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin® o Space Mountain® o Tomorrowland Speedway • Fantasyland® o Seven Dwarfs Mine Train o Mad Tea Party o Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid o The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh • Frontierland® o Big Thunder Mountain Railroad® • Liberty Square o Haunted Mansion® Dance the night away with one of our two DJ Dance Parties from approximately 10:00 pm – 2:00 am. • Cinderella Castle Stage • Frontierland Stage near Country Bear Jamboree Dress is casual. The cost of the Celebration Party is included in the NHSCC hotel travel package. For those teams or family members who didn't purchase the travel package, admission into the Celebration Party is $45.00. Extra tickets (wristbands) are VERY limited and will be for sale only during the registration times listed on the previous page. Wristbands will NOT be sold the night of the party at the park. TRANSPORTATION IS NOT PROVIDED FOR THOSE PURCHASING EXTRA TICKETS. Celebration Party - Transportation and Parking: If you are staying on the hotel travel package, championship buses will shuttle guests from all Championship Hotels. You will be dropped off at the Ticket and Transportation Center and will then need to take the Ferryboat over to the Magic Kingdom® Park. When departing the Magic Kingdom® Park please go to the Bus Loop directly in front of the Magic Kingdom for Championship buses returning to the your resort. Celebration Party - Charter Buses or Individual Cars: Walt Disney World buses DO NOT shuttle to Magic Kingdom® Park this evening due to the park being closed to the public. Those purchasing extra wristbands must provide their OWN TRANSPORTATION. For those taking their cars or vans to the Celebration party please self-park in the Magic Kingdom® Park parking lot; proceed to the Ticket and Transportation Center; then take the Ferryboat to the Magic Kingdom® Park. If a team is using their own charter bus, they will need to park in the Charter Bus lot adjacent to the Ticket and Transportation Center and then use the Ferryboat to ride over to the Magic Kingdom® Park. PLEASE NOTE: Bus parking lot at 10:00pm will be quite busy with regular guests exiting the park.